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Visa expands stablecoin support amid rising demand
Visa announced it will add support for four additional stablecoins across four different blockchains on its settlement platform, responding to a surge in stablecoin-linked card activity. The payments giant reported a fourfold increase in stablecoin-linked Visa card spending over the past quarter versus the same period last year, prompting the company to accelerate product development for banks and financial institutions.
Key figures and industry context
During its latest earnings call, CEO Ryan McInerney highlighted that Visa has facilitated nearly $140 billion in crypto and stablecoin flows since 2020 and that monthly stablecoin settlement volume has reached an annualized run rate above $2.5 billion. Visa also reported quarterly revenue of $10.72 billion and earnings per share of $2.98, narrowly beating Wall Street expectations while continuing to invest in digital-asset rails.
Which stablecoins and blockchains?
Visa has not disclosed the identities of the four new stablecoins or the blockchains they will operate on. The company already supports major stablecoins such as USD Coin (USDC), Euro Coin (EURC), PayPal USD (PYUSD) and Global Dollar (USDG), and it has partnered with crypto-native firms to broaden settlement choices and enhance cross-border payment capabilities.
Product strategy: tokenization and Visa Direct
Visa said it will deepen its stablecoin offerings beyond card-linked payments. The roadmap focuses on tokenization infrastructure that enables banks to mint and burn issuer-backed stablecoins using Visa’s tokenized asset platform. That tokenization layer aims to simplify onramps and offramps for financial institutions and support programmable money use cases.
Visa Direct and prefunding pilot
Last month, Visa launched a prefunding pilot for stablecoins under Visa Direct. The pilot allows banks and payment providers to use stablecoins as a source of liquidity for global payouts, reducing the need to hold multiple fiat balances across jurisdictions and accelerating cross-border settlements. Visa expects these features to make cross-border money movement faster and more capital-efficient for partners.
Wider market impact and on-chain lending
Stablecoins have become a dominant settlement rail in crypto markets. A recent report from venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz estimated stablecoins processed roughly $46 trillion in transactions over the past year—outpacing major card networks over the same period. Visa’s interest in stablecoins reflects this trend and the rising use of on-chain lending: the company noted that on-chain lending with stablecoins has originated over $670 billion in loans since 2020.
What this means for banks and customers
By expanding settlement support to more stablecoins and blockchains, Visa aims to offer banks and fintech partners more flexibility in funding and settling transactions. For consumers and merchants, the move could mean faster cross-border receipts, reduced FX friction, and broader acceptance of crypto-linked payment methods. For banks, tokenization and mint/burn capabilities could open new revenue streams tied to programmable finance and institutional crypto services.
Outlook
Visa’s decision to broaden its stablecoin support underscores the company’s strategy to integrate traditional payment rails with blockchain-native settlement methods. While details about the specific stablecoins and timelines remain undisclosed, the firm’s recent pilots and public metrics signal a deliberate push to make stablecoins a core part of its settlement infrastructure for cross-border payments, card programs, and institutional liquidity solutions.
Source: crypto
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